This is my last day posting here at CoolDog, at least for now.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the last year posting dog-related news for you and writing about things important to dog owners.  Dr. Alfonso has been very kind in allowing me to post whatever I wanted.  I wish her the very best in the future.  For me, it's time to do some other projects and see where they lead.

Thank you to all of you who have read.  I will miss the site everyday.  Give your dogs a hug.

Goodbye for now,
Carlotta
and Charlsie, Taylor, Beau, Billie, Pearl, and little Blue

I know some of you won't believe me, but with five dogs my house is quiet right now. For the last couple of weeks I've had SEVEN dogs and life has been completely crazy here. Too many. Dogs underfoot, something happening all the time. Doggy dramas everywhere!

I usually have five or six dogs and I can handle that number because half of them are elderly. They are older, they sleep, they're quiet. But in the last month my sweet old Emma died. That was traumatic. And for about three weeks before she died we were in something like hospice care for her, feeding her tiny meals half-a-dozen times a day, making frequent trips to the grocery store and vet to try to get things she might eat, worrying about her, trying to make her comfortable. It was very hard. Plus, in the middle of all that stress, Billie came home from California. Another dog in the house. A young dog. One who was playing with the other young dogs. So she and Pearl and Blue had their own act going on all the time. Then Sarah chose this inconvenient time to come in season. More drama! That caused my two old boys to start acting like fools. It was really like a soap opera here.

But Emma died. And Sarah and Blue have gone to California now to live with Sarah's owner. (Blue will come back to me in a few months.) My two old boys are on speaking terms again. And Pearl and Billie are settled down. Charlsie sleeps through everything. Yesterday was the first peaceful day here in weeks. It was very nice.

Sometimes you can have too many dogs and I was definitely at my limit. It's good to be able to recognize your limits. Luckily, for me, this was just a temporary situation and I knew I was sending Sarah back to her owner.

There are people, though, who take in too many dogs and don't recognize it. Sometimes it's hard to say no. Whether you're an owner, a rescuer, or a breeder, it's important to keep your eyes on the big picture. Do you have too many dogs? Are you really able to provide the proper care for all of the dogs you have? Do you have enough time to groom all of your dogs? Is each individual dog getting a full share of attention? Can you really afford to feed and provide vet care for multiple dogs? These can be hard questions when you love your dogs and you want what's best for them. But having a lot of dogs can be a full-time job all by itself.

In my case I work at home so I have some advantages that other people may not have when it comes to spending time with my dogs and taking care of them, but I still have to work. Sometimes I feel like everything I earn goes toward taking care of the dogs.

If you have multiple dogs it's great if you have some support from family and friends. That helps a lot. But it doesn't always happen. Sometimes having dogs can actually lead to more tensions in a family, especially if members of your family think that you're overdoing it. I have friends who think I'm crazy. They told me for years I should have fewer dogs. Fortunately, I have a large community of dog friends, many of whom have more dogs than I do, who think I'm quite normal.

There have been times in my life when I was more devoted to dog activities than I am now. I used to live for dog shows. I would travel to shows weekly and spend the days in between shows grooming the dogs and studying about breeding and showing. I don't do that now and I only go to shows a few times a year. But my dogs are still as important to me as ever. I've just learned to try to keep more of a balance in my life with dogs, family and friends. I think home is more important to me now. I enjoy spending time with the dogs at home more now. The shows are always there when I want to go.

I am going to enjoy my quiet house today with my five dogs. That's a good number for me. If you or someone you know has too many dogs — they can't resist a dog in need, or they have stocked up on puppies or stray dogs — there is help for them. When it becomes a real problem it's called "hoarding." It's considered a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and there is treatment for it. I think it's more common than many people realize and people with dogs and cats can fall into it. It doesn't make you a bad person. You just need to get some help so you can get down to a manageable number of animals.

Even after all this time I still love these stories of dogs finding their way home when they've been lost. If you've ever had a lost dog and searched and cried over him or her, you know what it's like to dream of hearing that bark on the front porch, or that little scratch at the door. May all the lost dogs come home safely.

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Dog finds its way home across desert
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ELY — A dog that ran off during a road-trip rest stop in north-central Nevada apparently made its way nearly 80 miles across the high desert and two mountain ranges to return home to Ely a week later.

Moon, a Siberian husky, was reunited April 14 with owner Doug Dashiell, who last saw her April 6 near Railroad Valley, a distance he later clocked at 77 miles.

Moon, who is nearly 2 years old, was no worse for wear, except for stinking as if a skunk might have sprayed her.

"I've had trouble with her running away before. She's always come home," Dashiell said. But this time, he didn't really expect her to show up after a week had passed.

"After seven days — no way," he told the Ely Times.

Dashiell had taken his three dogs on a weekend trip to Tonopah. When he let them out of his truck near Railroad Valley, Moon took off when a catch on her chain let go, and she bolted into the sagebrush.

Dashiell searched for several hours before giving up and heading home. The last he saw her, she was headed northwest toward the Duckwater Shoshone Reservation. He called the tribal police, but they turned up no trace of Moon.

On April 14, the White Pine Veterinary Clinic telephoned Dashiell to let him know that Moon was back in town. She had wandered up to an Ely residence, where Alvin Molea took her home and fed her.

Molea said he called the clinic because the dog was wearing a clinic tag.

It sounds like Charlotte, NC, is the place to be next weekend if you're a dog lover. Over 12,000 dog people, many with their pets, are expected there for Bark in the Park, a huge dog festival/free event that features the Ultimate Air Dogs, presented by Purina. Very cool.

From the Charlotte Observer.

4TH ANNUAL EVENT
Saturday will be day to let the dogs out
Furry pals welcome to join their people at Bark in the Park
CELESTE SMITH
cesmith@charlotteobserver.com

Oh, the power of our four-legged friends.

The fourth annual Harris Teeter/Purina Bark in the Park dog festival happens Saturday at William R. Davie Park on Pineville-Matthews Road — and organizers are expecting a huge turnout for the free event. They hope to top last year's attendance of more than 12,000 dog lovers — many of whom bring their furry ones in tow. All dogs must be on a leash.

Look for the Ultimate Air Dogs, presented by Purina, showing off their jumping, diving and fetching skills. Vendor giveaways and contests — including a pet/owner look-alike competition — dominate the day.

And one very special pooch gets to lead the dog parade: the winner of an online "Top Dog" contest. (Voting ended Saturday; as of Friday afternoon, more than 55,000 votes were cast.)

If this sounds like the pets are the ones leading their human companions around on a leash, know that more is coming:

• Bark in the Park's popularity in south Charlotte spawned a north Mecklenburg version, "Howl-O-Ween," at Ramsey Creek Park on Lake Norman. Nearly 1,000 attended the inaugural celebration of pets in costume last October. It's now an annual event, too, scheduled for the Saturday before Halloween, said Candy Bridges, recreation coordinator for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's South District.

• Not to leave out the household cats, look for "Meow in the Meadow" coming this fall or next year.

Details are still being worked out, Bridges said. But Meow will be held in an indoor venue, include goofy contests just like Bark, and also have an educational bent, with information on cat vaccinations, safety and health. (An earlier version debuted about 10 years ago at Grady Cole Center in uptown, Bridges said.)

About 85 million cats are owned in the United States, compared to 75 million dogs. Apparently this cat-outnumbering-dogs scenario plays out in Mecklenburg County as well, Bridges said.

"A lot of people have two cats," she said — herself included, with Sassy and Cuddles.

• And Mecklenburg County's dog parks will be free beginning July 1, since park and rec is eliminating the $35 "pooch pass" requirement. The county's fifth dog park, in Third Ward's Frazier Park, is expected to open this summer.

Few may have envisioned Charlotte's animal set having this many options when the Bark in the Park dog festival debuted in 1988 at Freedom Park, Bridges said.

It was a way to get dogs out of the way at other city festivals.

Apparently, they proved too pesky to humans.

Want to go?

The fourth annual Harris Teeter/Purina Bark in the Park dog festival happens Saturday at William R. Davie Park, 4635 Pineville-Matthews Road, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. For a schedule of events, go to www.parkandrec.com.

Book review from the Los Angeles Times.

'Dog Man' by Martha Sherrill

The tale of one man's quest to preserve Japan's revered Akita breed of dogs from extinction.
By Elizabeth Mehren
April 20, 2008
Dog Man

An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain

Martha Sherrill

Penguin Press: 240 pp., $25.95

Aka was a noble beast, a proud creature with the quiet command of the Sphinx. When I stroked this sturdy companion of dear friends in Los Angeles, his chestnut-colored eyes never wavered from mine. His was a thousand-year gaze, I often thought.

But I was wrong. The ancestor dogs of this mighty Akita came to Japan's main island with early hunter tribes at least 2,000 years ago, Martha Sherrill reports in "Dog Man." They worked alongside bands of Ainu hunters, she explains, helping to track bear and deer. Later, as their migratory masters formed settlements, the dogs became fighters. Townspeople wagered on their prowess in community rings. Feudal lords treasured their Akitas as trophies. Samurai warriors in the 16th to 19th centuries regarded the Akita as both teacher and inspiration.

"Their essence or spirit was the quality most sought after — and valued," Sherrill writes. "A good dog was quiet and fearless."

But the Akita, with its strong snout and ever-alert ears, is a secondary character in this quirky story of heroism, defiance and dedication. Indeed, Sherrill discloses that the legendary breed might have disappeared entirely without the single-minded determination of a hydroelectric plant manager named Morie Sawataishi in the high, rugged snow country of rural Japan best known to most Americans through haunting paintings on museum walls.

It was to this remote setting that Morie (as Sherrill short-hands her protagonist) brought his bride soon after finishing his service in Japan's Imperial Navy. There in Hachimantai, Morie drove a horse cart into the village, whereas his wife, Kitako, often walked to town with a baby on her back. War between Japan and the United States was raging and provisions were scarce. He had a family and a promising job. Yet he longed for a dog.

His timing could not have been worse. Country people were killing their beautiful dogs, eating the meat and selling the pelts. When he heard of an Akita pup in a village a day's ride away, Morie took his horse cart over hard dirt roads and returned with a puppy he named "Dog." His wife was furious. They could barely feed their family, and keeping a dog in those desperate times was illegal.

For Morie, Dog — and many more Akitas that would follow — became life's central focus. Only a dozen or so remained in the country at the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945. Preserving the breed became Morie's passion. He loved his wife and children and won recognition in his job. But he repeatedly passed up promotions that would have meant bigger houses and better living conditions. He became a man possessed. With their grace and hardy vigor, the dogs symbolized kisho: what Morie called "a kind of strength and life force."

Sherrill, a former Washington Post reporter, weaves a biography of a bold eccentric in a highly conformist culture with a portrait of a Japan few outsiders see. Life in the snow country defies the image of a bustling, technocratic nation, just as Morie stands apart from the stereotype of a power-plant executive. The book also depicts an unusual marriage, as Kitako grows more sure of herself — not less so — while her husband devotes himself to his dogs.

Sherrill provides rich details about the dogs and their "faraway mountain." We learn that in addition to being a canine-crazy manager at Mitsubishi, Morie is something of an inventor. For instance, he once built a self-heating bathtub, although it required some refinement after a nephew nearly electrocuted himself. She also recounts how Morie whipped up a side-saddle basket so his dog could ride with him on a motorbike. He dodged speeding citations by pointing to his passenger and telling police officers, "This is a national treasure!"

But too often "Dog Man" reads like something from the Post's Style section on steroids. Addressing Morie's perseverance in the Akita world — at 94, he still raises and trains the dogs — Sherrill made me want to shout, "Down, girl!," when she wrote: "It's a matter of pride, really. He's an ancient relic, he knows, but even so, Morie has a reputation he likes to protect. He's still Morie Sawataishi no matter how old he manages to get." Or, leaping inside Kitako's head, she channels the dog man's wife wondering how long this hard mountain life can continue.

Still, "Dog Man" offers a fascinating slice of cultural history, a chronicle of how one man stood against convention to pursue his own peculiar path. After all the financial challenges, the marital strains and the outright ridicule he sometimes endured, satisfaction was Morie's when the emperor sent a letter honoring him. "At least he has known what his life is about," his wife remarked. For anyone, that stands as a worthy goal. *

Elizabeth Mehren is a professor of journalism at Boston University and a lifelong dog person.